You're partly right Scarletts. But not all cadets, even then, were from wealthy backgrounds. My grandfather - whose 390 page handwritten WW1 diary I mentioned here not long ago - was one of 10 or so siblings and he retired after WW1 on a meagre Army pension. No horses for my father.
Nor was it necessary to be from a "snooty" background to succeed in the Army. Field Marshal "Wullie" Robertson who played a major part in WW1 had started out as a private soldier and worked his way to the very top on merit ...
Tony.
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